Most Secret War

by R.V. Jones

The following year I found evidence that the Germans were setting up a station near Lugo in northwest Spain, of the type known as ‘Elektra Sonne’ which would transmit a fan of beams out into the Atlantic and over the Bay of Biscay. This, with a similar station near Brest, would provide a cross pattern of beams by which an aircraft or a U-boat could very easily determine its position. Remembering what difficulty I had had in briefing our Ambassador in the Gibraltar instance, I boggled at having to go through the whole process again for the new station. Happily, the thought occurred to me that we were operating more aircraft over the Bay of Biscay than the Germans were. I therefore telephoned the Chief Navigation Officer at Coastal Command and asked him whether, if I could provide him with a fan of beams from northwest Spain, he could honestly say that Coastal Command could make better use of it than the Germans themselves. He held an enquiry at the Command and two days later called back affirmatively, adding that the Command would very much appreciate the service.